Last week I talked about my work at A Quiet Place and I thought you might like to know a bit more about this wonderful project.

The A Quiet Place project allows children from 4-16 have a place within school to visit when they need to: relax, be calm, talk over their problems, deal with their stress or anger issues, have respite, be listened to, work through their problems.

All the Quiet Place rooms are magically decorated with all the colours of the rainbow. There are beautiful murals painted by talented artists, all giving of their best work. The rooms are beautifully furnished with comfortable areas to instil calm and relaxation or build excitement and mystery. Some of the rooms have a jungle scene or a space scene. Lots have a beautiful blue ceiling with little white fluffy clouds just floating past.

There are musical instruments to play and clay to model with. There is a water fountain tinkling in the corner and a place to roll about on the floor, should they need it. Paper and pens and all array of crafty bits and pieces are always available.

And so is, and most importantly, an adult to listen. Something that a lot of children crave is to have space to be listened to and believed. Sometimes that is all it takes. Let’s all make time to listen to our children.

Share the Magic!: If you have found this blog post helpful please pass it on. We want to help as many children, parents, families and schools as possible. Thank you x

Over the years I have worked with children as private clients with issues as diverse as: mental, physical, emotional & sexual abuse; low self-esteem, fears and phobias, poor concentration, nightmares, nail biting, bed wetting, grief and bereavement, behaviour disorders, eating disorders, drug and alcohol abuse, image problems, stress and other mental health problems.

I was invited as one of two psychotherapists to set up the pilot project in Liverpool of A Quiet Place (run by The Chieron Project & Liverpool University) to enable school children from 4-16 to have a place to go to within their school when they need to deal with emotions or be listened to.

This was very challenging and rewarding work and over the years we helped hundreds of children dealing with very difficult emotions and situations. By the time I left, we had Quiet Places in a number of primary and secondary schools all over the city and in other schools around the country. And we didn’t just work with the pupils, but supported the parents and staff too with counselling and massage.

In recent years I have gone back to working part time as a college lecturer with young adults (14+), developing and building self esteem and confidence. Having grown up with very low esteem and feelings of inadequacy, I understand how important this work is.

What I love to see is how my clients and students grow and develop and I am often touched when they get in touch to let me know how their lives are going and what they are proud of.

That’s what it’s all about. That’s why I do it. That’s why it’s so important for them to know that we care.

If you are helping your child with one of the issues above, I hope that you can find help and support here. Do please feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to help you.

Share the Magic!: If you have found this blog post helpful please pass it on. We want to help as many children, parents, families and schools as possible. Thank you x